


Here there be Monsters.....

by ifitships_isits



Category: Firefly, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, It Gets Better, Multi, Not happy at first, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-05-25 10:50:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6192115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifitships_isits/pseuds/ifitships_isits
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Blue sun sends out their own signal, River must flee her home and family and find her own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Running away

**Author's Note:**

> The character death comes at the start, and I don't plan on bringing the ship back at all. This story is based on a Cracked after hours video, connecting Buffy, Cabin in the Woods, and Firefly. It was my idea to throw in my favorite Pairing. Totally started as a Crack story, took on a serious side. I'm lost. Ok, I'm not getting many hits with firefly tag, so i took it off to test.

Just a whistle on the cortex was all it took this time. Blue Sun had grown tired of the chase, and just wanted to be rid of their missing assets. Too many questions, and if the girl was caught….

They managed to stop River before she killed the entire crew by venting the oxygen until she passed out. They trapped her in the extra shuttle, but not before she had done the damage. Her brother was first.

Bright blood, it tastes familiar, like her own. A hint of the scent that surrounded her for so long, keeping her safe and coddled. Had to go, had to stop. Couldn’t let him say the words, not when they were so close.

Zoe was next. She seemed to welcome it, as she came forward, mare still strapped her leg. It was a surprise, but not really.

She was looking at the girl as she stood over her kin. Simon’s final expression was one of peace. Like he knew his duty was done, and he could rest now. Zoe pondered if Wash would be waiting for her as the blade sunk into her neck. 

Mal had got her trapped in the space shuttle after that, and a decision had to be made. They couldn’t keep her here. She was a monster. But none of them were brave enough or stupid enough to think they could put her down. Not even Kaylee, who was now freshly widowed and carrying twins. She couldn’t kill the last of Simon’s family.   
The decision was made for them when the shuttle launched itself without warning. There were cries of alarm, but River’s voice came through the com.

“There is a planet nearby. I can go there. I will not be a danger to you there. Blue Sun won’t find me, won’t even know where to look.” Her face appeared on the screen. Tears were dripping down her face, and her teeth were tightly clenched.   
“Go. If you can, move on.” She whispers , refusing to look at the screen.   
“We got too close, I got dragged in…..”   
“Dragged into what?” Kaylee spoke up, voice broken in confusion and grief.   
A growl came over intercom, one that made the hairs on the back of Mal’s neck stand up. She was no longer his albatross. A strange weight lifted from his chest.

“Home”   
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

River lands on the planet, cutting through the remains of the ships that didn’t quite make it. The evidence of greater beings having taken over, something even more ancient than humans had crawled from the ground, and pits of cooling fire glowed as clouds of smoke billowed out of them.   
Remnants of humans were evident, but nothing she saw led her to believe there was anything human left on the surface. Or anything else, for that matter. She brought the shuttle down near a hastily build spaceport on the edge of a forest that covered it in overgrowth. She startled a group of horned creatures she recognized as moose from her early studies.   
She pulled out the cortex and to refresh her memory. She paused as the information loaded. It would be slightly inactuate, being out of date several hundred years, but not long enough to be completely useless. She had a brief outline of what had driven her species off the planet from her time under Blue Sun’s control. The official story was resources had been exhausted. The truth was hidden behind clinical phrases and military assessments. But the fear it invoked was primal, deeper than the fear of reavers. Reavers were at their core, human. Torn and broken minds and bodies, broken instincts that drive everything to extremes. Whatever had taken the planet was worse. She laughed as she imagined the globe in her father’s study. A careful re creation of an ancient mariner’s map.

Here there be monsters.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

She gives herself a quick refresher course on Earth-that-was, and looked up anything the cortex had on “Demons” and “Monsters”. She wondered what Book would say about this turn of events. She knew he had his connections. One of the last, he should have trained her. But the bitter taste of failure had tainted the watchers long before groups like the Initiative had taken over. The remnants of the order had gladly taken jobs for whoever or whatever would hire them. Several ended up working for the Facility, and had managed to get out when everything went to shit. Not that it really mattered. When humans left, most of the more powerful ones, “Demons” followed. They couldn’t feed on each other. The ones who were either too stupid or too stubborn were left behind, leaving the less powerful “monsters” to roam what was left. She had no idea what all of it meant, but she knew she was a monster.   
She loaded herself down with weapons and went out in search of food.  
She carefully searched the area around the landing pad, then ventured into the woods. She found several edible nuts and berries, along with small game she knew should be safe. Weeks went by before she saw anything she could call a monster.  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

River was sitting on the edge of the pond removing her clothes when she heard it. She needed to wash the blood off. She could still smell the hints of humanity on her skin, poisoning the air. She needed to remove the last bits of humanity that clung to her. She was a monster now. There was a rustle in the bushes. The weapon was alert, although the girl showed nothing on the surface. She slowly undressed, seeming innocent and harmless. The knife trapped to her ankle was hidden beneath the water, so she wasn’t afraid. She removed her top, tossing it to the shore near her shoes and pants.   
She stood naked in the pond, slowly washing herself, allowing her hair to cover her like a curtain. As she slowing worked the cheap soap through her hair, the bushes parted. A pair of glowing red eyes shone back at her. It looked like one of the native animals, a wolf, although quite a bit larger than the pets some of her father’s friends kept. She tried to read it, get a feel of it’s intentions, but found a wall where usually she found open doors. Perhaps this is one of the monsters. 

“Rude! Bothering a girl while she’s washing? You have no manners, Big Bad.” She dunked her head under, holding her breath and swirling in the water until all the soap had been rinsed out. She pushed against the bottom of the pond, leaping out of the water, sliding the water at the beast as she drops to battle position on the shore. She licks the blade of the knife, her eyes never leaving the wolf.   
“Does wolfie want to play?” she says, grinning at it.   
The wolf narrowed its eyes, understanding evident, then lifted its head in the air. And inhaled.   
River sat balanced perfectly ready to strike as the wolf slowly sank back into the shadows. She collected her things, keeping her ears and eyes scanning the forest. Everything remained silent.  
She decided to return to the shuttle. She could learn more about the puppy by observation. She collects some fruit that she had seen during her research, and fills a few water bottles from the stream filling the pond.   
She debated on whether to catch some small game, but chose not to.She had a couple of protein packs left and it might offend the wolf. She recalled that wolves were territorial, And they ran in packs. Perhaps she had been lucky to come across a lone wolf. She would have to be more careful until she knew how to handle a pack.   
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The next morning she was awakened by the proximity alarm. By the time she pulled up visuals, she sees the wolf from the pond dive out of sight. Near the door sat several gutted and descaled fish, along with a handful of delicate purple flowers, mixed with what she could have sworn smelled like mint.  
She armed herself, then opened the door to collect her gift.  
She heard someone clear their throat.   
A nude man leaned against a crumbling post of the spaceport, just out of range of the alarms.   
“Are you the wolf? Does this make me little red?”   
He chuckled.   
“They still tell that fairy tail?” He speaks good enough English. No common, though.   
“Oh, yes. Of course, other stories have been forgotten.” She tilts her head, looking at him, but almost looking through him.   
“Do you really turn into a wolf? It seem against the simple Law of conservation of mass. You simply don’t have the mass.” She says, her eyes clinically examined him. The wolf in the shadow yesterday had been at least twice as big as the man standing before her.   
He laughed.   
And changed.   
She could see the bone contorts and stretch under his skin, his teeth growing sharp and his mouth growing into a snout. He goes to his knees, legs twisting into new shapes as he snarled and his shoulders swelled and torso lengthened His fingers fused together, sprouting vicious looking claws build to rend flesh. This beast was much larger than the one she met in the pond, standing about eight feet tall. But as she watched, the beast shrank down into the wolf. His eyes glowed that same bright red the whole time. When his form stopped changing, and settled into the wolf, his eyes were an almost familiar shade of blue. She stared open mouthed at the strange anomaly in front of her. She went through her studies, mentally cataloging all the possible medical conditions, genetic mutations or possible hallucinogens that she could have been exposed to. Nothing came to mind, unless it was something in the pond.   
A howl split the air, and the wolf quickly turned towards the sound, ears alert. The howl was followed by a series of yips, as the wolf circled the girl, trying to herd her back into the ship.   
What ever was out there scared the thing that could grow eight feet tall with six inch claws. She became concerned.   
She was scanning the treeline when a fox jumped out of the bushes into her arms.  
“Stiles! How many times have I told you not to do that!”  
The man was back, yelling at the frightened ball of fur in her arms. It wiggled out of her grasp and into her shoulder, River instantly adjusting her weight as it settled around her neck like a scarf. She reached up to scratch its ears.   
“Kitsune.” She croons at it.   
She whispered to it in Japanese.  
“Stiles doesn’t speak Japanese.”   
“But you do?” River’s eyebrows elevate.   
“Not much.” He shrugged. “Enough to get by.”  
Stiles jumped off of her shoulder, rushing off to the shuttle. She knew the odds were low he could figure out the controls, so she didn’t worry. She could hear others approaching, some on two legs, others on four. They sounded like a small army.  
She looked at the man speculatively.   
“Your pack, I assume.” She says, indicating the direction of the noise.   
He nods.  
“Quite stealthy.”   
He rolls his eyes, his whole head rolling with them.  
A voice from the shuttle. “Oh, I told Derek it was safe. Or at least she’s not a monster.”   
River hisses at this.  
“Well, you smell human.” The voice amends.  
Peter looks at her speculatively.   
“Oh, by the way, my name is Peter. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He held up his hand in greeting.  
She stepped forward and shook his hand.  
“I’m Stiles. Hope you don't mind if I borrow this. Unlike Creeper wolf here, I think it’s rude to introduce yourself while naked.” Stiles appeared in the door of the shuttle, wearing the red dress she had hidden there ages before she left Serenity. It had been a gift from Inara. A fiery silk number that flowed around her curves and tantalised as she spun around in it. Mal had once said that she had looked like a spinnin’ sunset in the dress.   
Stiles dove back into the shuttle as others walked into the clearing. About eight animals and ten humans. Or at least they looked human. As each one met the eyes Peter, thier eyes lit up, In a variety of colors, mostly yellow or blue.  
“My name is River.” She says, introducing herself.  
“Let me introduce you to my pack.” Peter says with a smile.   
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

River finds herself almost overwhelmed with all the new people. But they seemed oddly careful of her space, and she could tell that they had a way of sensing her moods.   
Stiles finally comes out of the shuttle, once again a fox. He dodges thru the crowd of fur and legs, snatching a shawl off the shoulders of the one called Lydia. He changed, a swirl of smoke and a flair of the shawl he wrapped it around his human form.   
A black fur wolf dives over to him, nipping at his hip.   
“Derek! Stop that!”  
Peter calls at him. Stiles ducks behind River, as Derek looks at Stiles, dropping to his front legs to the ground along with his chin. A playful growl rumbles from Derek’s chest. His tail starts wagging back and forth.   
“Derek…. Not now.” Stiles warns him.  
Derek suddenly dives for Stiles, grabbing the shawl and exposing Stiles. River dives into the fight, ducking and squeezing between the wolf and teen and grabbing the shawl. She jumped away, taking off into the forest. The chase was quickly joined by the rest of the furry pack members. River jumped and avoided Derek’s effort to get back the shawl, and Stiles slipped into his fox form to help River keep it away from the black wolf. The rest of the changers kept the three from getting too far from the shuttle. Stiles rolls himself into the garment, and River scoops it up before Derek can, and rushes to the shuttle. She stops when she gets to the clearing. The humans have been busy, creating a fire pit and several blankets laid around it, and food cooking on the fire.   
She welcomes the companionship. She misses her former family, the ones the monster she had turned into had cost her. Peter sniffs the air, giving her an inquiring look. She shakes her head, throwing off the memories.   
Not now. Not yet.   
Peter understands.   
She has come to the world of monsters, and has found a home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River begins to recover and the pack begins to accept her. Peter grows more attached, and Stiles is a idiot, but too cute not to love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking of letting the Stiles/Peter take a back seat and making Stiles asexual romantic. He loves and needs to be loved, but sex is not for him. I know this is totally ofc,( Stiles on the show is a total horndog) but I'm mixing about six different fandoms. ( And secretly, I'm not quite sure how to write poly and do it any justice)

Not once being around the pack had one person’s thoughts intruded on hers. Gone was the senseless babble of voices she heard since the lab had “cracked her nut” as Jayne had called it. No secrets of love and betrayal. Not violent urges or nightmares of battlefields. Peace.   
Without the hum of the engine, she had been unsure whether she would be able to sleep at all. She hadn’t spent time planetside in years, and Mal had despised the time there, getting business done and returning to the comfort of the sky. But the sound of the birds and other creatures that lived in the woods lulled her to sleep. The wind through the trees and the occasional howl of the wolves filled her ears in a way that the constant hum of the engine never could. She remembered the days of her childhood, on a planet far from this one.   
For the first time since the Academy, she could sleep. Her nights were filled with dreams of her own, although her nightmares were still tainted with the darkness of forced memories not her own.  
When she would wake from her nightmares, she would often find one of the pack, usually Peter or Stiles, resting outside the shuttle door or tending the fire pit they built that first night. She sometimes wakes from a nightmare to find Peter pacing the clearing, scenting the air and growling as a wolf.  
It's something she’s learned about them. They tended to avoid the clearing when she wished for privacy, although at least one pack member would check on her everyday. But if she was distressed, they would appear, somehow knowingly. Mostly the wolves, although the young one Malia, a coyote, would follow Stiles on his more frequent visits. Melissa, the mother of Scott, would stop by once a week to chat about the weather, and complain about her son and Stiles getting into trouble. Peter would most often come alone, and on days when she was lost to her memories, when everything that happened to her overwhelmed her, when she thought about everything she lost. He would sit next to the fire, in wolf form, waiting for her to peek her head out of her shuttle. She would eventually slide out, sitting next to him. They would watch the sunset as River would bury her fingers in his fur. She began to leave the shuttle door open, and sure enough, one morning she was awakened by something cold tickling her neck. 

She bolted upright, hand reaching for a knife blindly. There was a squeal from under the covers and an orange and white blur dashes out of the shuttle, the knife embedding itself in Stiles shoulder as he made the shift from fox to human. She instantly realized what had happened, and regret overwhelmed her. She managed to close the shuttle door before she collapsed, knowing she had once again attacked her family.  
She could hear Stiles outside, howling for his pack. She watched the monitors, hoping she hadn’t wounded Stiles to badly. In the distance, she heard Peter’s echoing roar. She froze in panic. In moments Peter was outside the shuttle, in that beastial form she had witnessed on that first day. She wondered how fast he would be able to tear apart the ship. The power had dropped below levels that would allow her to find a new home elsewhere. She wouldn’t be able to escape. But after a brief sniff at Stiles and a low growl which sent Stiles scurrying away, Peter paced outside her ship, red eyes glowing as he stared at the cockpit. Cold fear overcame her, and she pulled her knees up under her chin, waiting for the sound of claws ripping into steel.

When several minutes went by, and she heard nothing, she peeked through the cockpit.

Although Peter was circling the shuttle, his eyes remained fixed outward, as if protecting her from something. Stiles eventually joined him, in human form and dressed in the loincloths and furs they seemed to favor. (Although Lydia seems to have a thing for silk. Smart girl, Lydia. She had known silk was one of the few fabrics that could last the ages, and apparently had a most extensive wardrobe that had lasted hundreds of years, if not horribly dated, Lydia had said with a wistful smile.) He was trying to talk to Peter, but River couldn’t hear. She turned on the outside comms.

“Peter, I’m sorry. I got cold, and my fox just shifted. I didn’t even realize I had crawled into bed with her until I woke her up. Fix it!”  
Stiles hisses as he tries to reach his shoulder to pull out the knife.  
She sees the rest of the shifters along the edge of the clearing,waiting for Peter to calm down.   
Peter roars at Stiles, pushing him away from the ship and towards his pack.   
Stiles takes the hint and walks over to them. Erica is just shaking her head, looking more amused than angry as she pulls the knife out of the whiney teen. The comms aren’t powerful enough for her to hear what they are talking about, but they seem worried, not afraid.   
Peter continued to pace and growl, building up steam for what she’s sure will end in him ripping the metal apart. She begins to quake in fear, finally afraid of a monster that wasn’t herself.  
Peter roared as she covered her ears to the comm noise (oh, and how she wished she disabled the treacherous thing, only bad news came by comm)and awaited her fate.  
The pack scattered into the woods as she threw herself to the floor of the shuttle, waiting to die.

A polite knocking on the door interrupted her fear. The oddness, the soft tap came again.   
She wondered if it had already happened. If somehow she had died, maybe a while back, and this was death knocking so softly yet insistently. 

“River, please come out. I'm not going to hurt you. We need to know what Stiles did. I promise, he will be punished.”   
River snorted.   
“He’s not the problem.” She pulled herself up off the floor, glancing at the monitor.  
Peter had returned to his normal form, (obviously, since no claws were ripping apart the door) But his eyes kept that red glow. Peter was standing on the other side of the shuttle door, looking into the monitor.   
“What do you mean? Is it about what happened before?”  
That’s how she would refer to her history. When Melissa would ask who taught her to braid,(Inara) or Chris pondered where she learned how to clean a gun,(Jayne, although that was reluctantly, and well after Miranda.). She would look into the sky, then shake herself out of it.  
Before.   
River had a love/hate relationship with before. She would speak of her childhood lovingly, her days of sneaking around the grounds with Simon, the dance lessons, the professors her parents hired as tutors she loved to prove wrong. Lydia and her would talk mathematical theory while she watched the wolves roughhouse about who brought in the largest game or who defeated whatever menace had entered into their territory.  
But anything after the Academy and her time spent on Serenity, 8 years in total, were before.  
She didn’t want to go back to before.  
Fresh tears washed down her face, and she let out a wail.  
Peter turned, leaning against the door and sliding down, sitting there, waiting for her to speak.  
He hit his head on the door in frustration.  
“I’m a monster.”  
Peter snorted.  
“Aren’t we all?” He says, his laugh brief and cynical.  
“No, you don’t understand. I hurt people. People I love. People who trusted me. I lost control and…. people died. But it wasn’t my fault. Two by two. Hands of blue. They weren’t supposed to find me here. It was safe. I was with the monsters. But they found me. They wiggled around inside my brain and they bit off little chunks. They filled the spaces with poison. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ll go away. I can’t take the ship, the power is too low. but I’ll go.” River is frantic. She stumbles over her words, forcing them out. She doesn’t want to leave, but how could she stay? She had hurt one of the pack.  
“River.” Peter’s voice rumbled low and deep. It made her shiver, and she felt it down to her bones.  
She pressed her fingers to the door, almost feeling it vibrate with the deep primal growl.  
“Open the door.”  
She flipped the switch, opening the shuttle door, and Peter fell backwards into the shuttle.  
He looked up at her and gave her an upside down grin. She frowned at him.  
“Do you not understand what I’m capable of? I’m dangerous, Peter. I can’t stay here. Something will happen, and I'll lose it, and more people I lo….” she broke down, curling into a ball on the deck.  
Peter sat up, grabbing the girl and pulling her into his lap.   
She continued. “They did things, they cut into my brain. They took out the good pieces, the pieces that make me human, the pieces that made me normal.” River subconsciously touched the faint scar on the back of her head. She looked him strait in the eyes.  
“I’ll hurt you. If you make me stay. If you try to lock me up. I can’t go back.” Petr  
whined, red eyes flashing at her.  
“We would never lock you up! But you need to tell me what happened. And how we can keep it from happening again. I don’t want...WE don’t want you to go.” Peter corrected himself.  
River sniffled.   
“I had a nightmare.”  
Peter sighed.  
“I gathered that. What happened when you woke up? Was it something Stiles did?”  
River shook her head.   
“No, I’m used to him. He’s a cuddle monster.” She looks up at Peter. “Is that an actual thing?”  
Peter laughed.  
“No, but if there was one, it would definitely be Stiles.” He sighed, placing his chin on the top of her head. 

“Was it a nightmare? Stiles said he may have set you off, but was unclear on how.”  
“It was the cold, here.” She says, feeling her scar. “It’s where they cut.” Peter brings up his hand, cupping her head and carding his fingers through her hair, but only briefly running his warm fingers over the scar.  
“What happened? If you don’t want to talk about it….” Peter said softly.  
“I was young, talented and too privileged to hide it.” she shrugged, trying to make herself smaller.  
“When I became too much for my parents, they called the Academy. It was supposed to be one of the most elite schools in the alliance. had the best of everything, teachers, classrooms, resources. I was guaranteed a spot as a prodigy. But it wasn’t a school, it was something darker.”  
Peter growled, looking off into the distance.  
“They said I was going to be their best work yet. They cut into my brain, took out my amygdala. It caused some, well, odd side effects.” Peter looked confused, but there was a hiss from behind them. Stiles stood in the shuttle door.  
“It means you can’t control your emotions.” Stiles says. “And sometimes your memories.” He looks down at his hands.  
They both look at Stiles curiously. When he looks up to see them, he whispers. “It happened to my Mom. She sometimes would forget she had me, or who dad was. It got bad.” River looked at him tears in her eyes.   
Stiles cleared his throat, looking shamefaced.  
“I’m sorry. I got cold and I didn’t think. And you didn’t really hurt me. I’ve totally gotten worse from wrestling around with Scott over Mario kart, and that was before we became weres. Just ask Melissa.” he pulled of his shirt and showed her his shoulder. It was flawless, not even a scar. Stiles turned back around looking at her with apprehension.  
“Kitsune.” She said. He switched to his fox form with a grin and Peter pulled him into River’s lap.  
She sighed, leaning against Peter, threading her fingers through Stiles fur. They sat there for awhile, just comforting each other.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Been working on this way too long and over thinking it. Just going to put up what i have. If you guys got any ideas, leave a suggestion. Even if I don't use it directly, it will still get me moving back to writing without overthinking it.

Eventually, River’s heartbeat returned to normal. Both weres seemed to relax, and soon Stiles was belly up and letting out tiny snores in River’s lap. Peter put his lips to River’s ear, whispering to her.  
“We have all done things in the past we regret.” Stiles snorts at this, getting a small growl out of Peter.  
“ Whatever brought you here, it doesn’t matter to us. But if you want to talk about it, we will listen. We all have a story to tell. But if you want to leave, we will not hold you. Too many of us have been caged to ever force you in one.” Stiles started to wiggle and stretch. He crawled out of her lap and went over to her makeshift bed. He placed his head on his paws, whiskey brown eyes warming gazing at her.

“I killed people. My brother. My friend. I would have killed more if they hadn’t stopped me. Hands of Blue sent out a message. A trigger. I wasn’t in control When I came back from it, they were thinking of putting me down.”   
Peter growled. Stiles switched back to his human form, nodding and settling into the furs the pack had given River when the discovered she had no bedding.  
Peter moved her around to face Stiles, but pulled her closer. She tilted her head back against his chest.   
“I came here to get away from the signal. I can’t let them find me. I don’t want to hurt anyone. But the dreams….”  
Stiles clears his throat.  
“You don’t have to leave. We all make mistakes. People die. Sometimes they are strangers, sometime people we love.” He shrugs.  
Peter nuzzles her.   
“I know what it’s like to be out of control, River. We are all works in progress.” Stiles rolls his eyes at this.  
Peter stands up, effortlessly picking her up and shifting her around to carry her bridal style. She blushes at that thought. Peter lets out a low purr. She didn’t know wolves could purr.   
“I want you to come home with us. Talk to us. You are surrounded by your old life here, and some of us don’t think it’s healthy.”   
She started to protest. “The nightmares….”   
Stiles stands up, walking over and kissed River on the cheek.   
“We can deal with a few nightmares, River. Things haven’t always been great, and some of us get them too. We deal with it as a pack. We help each other.”   
River nods cautiously, biting at her lip. “Am I pack?”  
Both Stiles and Peter smile.   
“Hell yeah!” Stiles says.   
Peter smiles, leaning in to sniff at her.  
“You smell like pack.”  
River giggles a bit. “”Are you saying I smell?”   
Peter holds her closer, running his nose down the side of her neck. She throws her head back as a shiver went down her spine. She can feel his smile against her skin.   
“Like us, like me. Like family.” He growls, low and deep in his chest.   
She stiffens a little. Peter sets her gently on her feet.   
“Maybe we shouldn’t rush anything.” Stiles says, glaring at Peter. “You can come see the den! Everybody has been waiting for you to move in. We just didn’t know if you wanted to.”   
“Everybody?” River whispers incredulously.   
Peter kisses her forehead and brings his hand up under her chin, directing her to look him in the eyes. Cerulean blue pools, without so much as a flicker of dishonesty. She found it comforting she felt no fear off of him from being so close to her. Now that she looked, Stiles was not shying away from her either. It was… Different. And although Peter was always gentle with her, his hesitance to touch her had obviously been absolved. Finally, she thought, and giggled.   
Peter and Stiles looked at her curiously. She waved her hand dismissing her giggle.   
“I need to shut down the shuttle, just in case. It’s low on power, but I’m not keen on letting wild animals move in while I’m gone.”   
“You don’t have to worry. This place reeks of pack almost as much as the den.” Stiles snickers.   
“Stiles, flip the power down switch and cut the outside monitors.”   
Stiles nods as Peter leaves the ship carrying River. As soon as they are out, the ship door is closed and they head into the woods.   
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

River falls asleep in Peter’s arms, feeling surrounded by his warmth and emotionally exhausted as they travel through the woods. She awakens more gently this time, Peter’s voice luring her from slumber.   
“Little monster,wake up.” She opens her eyes as they arrive. She didn’t know what to expect when she heard the word den, but this was not it. She could still see the outline of the star on the outside of the building seeming buried in the side of a hill. She felt fear creeping up her spine. This was a jail.  
Peter tightened his grip around her. She started to panic. He put her down.   
“Woah, it's ok. It was just the sturdiest building in town. It served as a bomb shelter for the town in the 50’s.” He paused. “The 1950’s.” She nodded. History had talked about the nuclear age and how it had been instrumental in pushing mankind into the stars for a better life. History had also repeated itself dozens of times. Miranda hadn’t been the first, she knew that.  
(She remembers Mal’s quaint little description of the exodus of Earth. She actually preferred it to the truth. Or the truth she had been taught. The wolves had a different story, one she couldn’t get anyone to tell.)  
“We’ve done some remodeling. About three hundred years ago, we had some major earthquakes.”   
Is that was caused all those holes? When I was looking for a place to land, I kept seeing these pits. Some were smoking, some not. A few were sealed, but all the vegetation around them was gone. This area was the first place that looked livable. And it called to me.” She said shyly.   
Peter smiles.   
“Maybe it was just fate?” Stiles says helpfully.   
Erica sticks her head out the door.   
“Guys, dinner’s almost ready, are you going to come in, or do you want to eat out back? Cause Melissa said she’s fine with that as long as we hang up the netting first. The bugs are bad this year.” She frowns, looking them over.   
“ You should wash up before dinner. I’ll help River. Alison is about your height.” Erica pushes her lips together. “ But so skinny! Like Stiles was back in high school.” River looks down at her body as Peter growls at the blonde.   
She had lost weight in the weeks she had spent alone. Before the pack. She had started to put some back on, but she had grown used to years of scant meals and growling bellies. (The ship had its times of plenty, but too often, protein paste and a few cans was all they could get. Even that was better than the medicated bitter taste she had experienced at the school.)  
But everything the pack had brought her was delicious. She couldn’t wait to taste what melissa had fixed fresh.   
“I’m, I mean, I was a dancer. I was always on the thin side.” She shrugs.  
Erica sighs. “Lucky. I may have gotten a few upgrades with the bite, but I’ve never been happy with my butt.” A shadow comes up behind her and she squeals as Body wraps his hands around her waist and spins her around. She bats at him.   
“I happen to love your butt!” Boyd says, setting Erica down and looking at Peter and Stiles.   
“You guys better get dressed. Melissa said no shifting tonight. Jackson is already whining.” Stiles looked like he felt the same way, but Peter seemed to nod approval. River looks down at her tattered dress, fixed with tape and a few knots to keep too much from showing. Most the pack had either been naked or worn minimal clothes, so she had never felt self conscious about it.   
“We will need to make a few passes on the north side of town later tonight. Something has been digging at the old high school. May just be an animal.” Peter informs him. Boyd nods and heads inside to alert the pack. Erica grabs River’s hand.   
“Come on, let’s go see what we can find to wear.” She followed Erica into the building.  
Once inside she saw a large open plan area with the kitchen in one corner with a huge bar and a sort of sunken sitting area beside it. She could see a hallway leading deeper into the building that had several doors. She could see a stairwell at end of the hall that lead both up and down, and Scott and John were carting Wooden folding chairs up. Kira darted past them with a long spool of netting and some sticks.  
“Don't set anything up until I get up there!” She heard John’s exasperated tone. No doubt she would finally get to see the deck that Stiles had raved about.   
John had visited a few times, and at first, she had thought he disliked her. Until Stiles had explained that River looked amazingly like his mother, who had died when Stiles was a child. John was kept busy at the den, but he did make a few visits to the ship.   
Erica pulled her towards the stairs heading down, eyeing her.   
“You’re a hard fit, but I’m sure we can find something. Allison is a bit curvier than you.” River frowned, and Erica pursed her lips. “ I don’t mean anything by it. It’s just been a while since we had any visitors. I’m afraid I’m not very good with people.” she sighed.

“If it helps, I’m not either.” River says, allowing herself to be led to an area downstairs that seemed to be lined with wooden doors. Each door had names carved at the top, along with decorations that seemed to suit each person. They came to Allison’s door standing wide open and a flurry of activity. As they approached she heard Allison talking with Lydia.   
“Do you think she’ll want to stay?” Allison sounds hopefully.   
Lydia snorts. “It’s either that or Peter moves out there.”  
“I hope she moves in. I don’t like the pack so spread out. I think something is coming. We should be…..” Erica clears her throat, announcing their arrival.   
Lydia and Allison stand up and turn around quickly, arms full of clothes.   
“Hello!” Allison says brightly. Lydia sets down her bundle on the top of a dresser sitting in the corner and walks up to River.   
“You didn’t hear all that. 

 

 

 

 

“Back off!” He demands of his pack. They pull back as Peter helps River to her feet. She is grateful for the distance, as she takes in her surroundings. It appeared to be a log cabin, common enough for a planet with such abundant lumber. A brick fireplace sat against one wall with scattered folded bedrolls in a circle around the center of the room. Various pots and pans bubbled away in the fireplace, smelling delicious. It’s obvious the whole pack had been expecting them, but they give her some space, some trying to go back to reading or crafting something, or trying not to stare. There were several curtains hanging from the rafters, and she puzzled at them. She would ask later. There were scattered pieces of furniture in the cabin, all mismatched from different time periods, but all in fairly good condition. She saw Stiles in fox form curled up in a particularly worn bean bag chair. She unwinds From Peter’s arms, walking over to Stiles. She picks him up, plopping down and smiling as Stiles curls up in her lap. She waves over Allison and Lydia, who seem the most eager to greet her. Lydia is carrying a basket of cloth, while Allison has a small wooden box. Peter disappears from her sight as the other pack members arrange themselves in small groups, chatting away and waiting for their turn talking to her.   
They didn’t at all seemed concerned by her earlier outburst, and she’s pretty certain most of the pack knows by now. Stiles shifts back to human, his head resting on her lap. She combed through his hair with her fingers and he smiled and hummed. Lydia sat down beside her, and Allison waving over Isaac who was pulling a small sofa closer towards them.   
“So, are you staying here tonight? Because I already picked a spot for you. I know Stiles is cuddly in both forms, but you don't want to be next to him if he’s unconscious in human.” Lydia smiles.  
“Hey!” Stiles yelps in his own defence. 

“I..I don’t know.” River looks down at her feet, a reflex she has when she’s nervous.   
Stiles wiggles in her lap, breaking her line of sight.   
“It’s ok, you know. We all have nightmares.” he shrugs. “And we can help.”  
“I could hurt someone. I’ve been better since coming here. But I won’t get better.” Peter growls from his spot by the fire.   
Allison nods. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we are kinda used to dangerous, River. And we would all feel safer if you stayed here.” River started to say something, but Lydia decided to stop her.   
“I don’t know what happened to you, but I’m willing to bet we are a lot different than them. I’ve heard you talk about your “family” and I’m not sure they ever even wanted to understand you. Seems to me they were pretty judgmental and controlling. Not to mention your parents.” she sighs. Softer, she says “My parents were scared of how smart I was too.”   
She reaches forward and takes River’s hand. “I know you don’t know quite what you want right now, but I want you know I really want you to be my sister. Just consider it.” She squeezes River’s hand, and pulls her off the bean bag into a hug. Stiles yelps again as he tumbles out of her lap onto the floor.   
Isaac and Allison giggle as the rest of the pack slowly filling in around River,telling her stories and reassuring her she was welcome.

**Author's Note:**

> I warned you people. Please let me know what you thought.


End file.
